UN urges Syria opposition to end violence

Ban made the remarks in a joint news conference in New York late on Thursday following a closed-door meeting with the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, and Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi.

The secretary-general underlined the need to take urgent measures to calm down the situation in Syria, saying that the danger of full-scale civil war is imminent and real in the country with catastrophic consequences for the region.

Ban’s remarks succeeded statements by Annan who warned against any military intervention in Syria, stressing that the country’s future should be decided by its own people.

Annan noted that foreign military intervention in Syria would only bring about further bloodshed. He suggested that an international contact group on Syria should be established.

The UN-Arab League envoy also pointed to the existence of evidence showing the involvement of a third party in the country’s ongoing crisis.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011 and many people, including hundreds of security forces, have been killed in the country over the past 15 months.

While the West and the Syrian opposition say the government is responsible for the killings, Damascus blames “outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups” for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

HM/SS

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